O Canada!: A look at cool Canadian health innovation

Many Canadians have played – and continue to play – a defining role in our nation’s health.

A special thank you to Kathleen Dickson and Dr. John Bergeron for pointing out that yes, indeed, there are also many women who have made – and continue to make – significant contributions to health. We have added their additions below, but this list is by no means complete.

HAART treatment

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) treatment is responsible for halting the progression of HIV to AIDS, effectively ending a death sentence for many around the world. In 1996, a team led by Dr. Julio Montaner out of the B.C. Centre for Excellence developed this cocktail of three drugs (Nevirapine, Didanosine and Zidovudine) to be taken daily.

He also focused on getting HAART access to hard to reach populations, like injection drug users.

By 2014, it was adopted by the UN as part of the formal strategy for fighting HIV/AIDS globally.

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During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory has transitioned to private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. Results required urgently can be faxed upon request. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy has transitioned to private courier for delivery of medications. We recommend requesting medication at least 2 weeks in advance in case of delivery delays, particularly to rural/remote parts of BC. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service

The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below